Or Records
Encyclopedia
Or Records is a small British
independent record label
company, established in 1998
and based in London
. They specialize in electronic music
and experimental music
, and are distributed by Touch Music
. They have issued "the first ever MiniDisc
only release" (Alan Phillips, Sony
Software) http://www.itsaor.net/only3.html, the 1998 experimental album Minidisc by Autechre
's side-project Gescom
.
Their peculiar catalogue numbering scheme use a different word for each release, followed by the actual number of the release in the catalogue: "UNLESS 1", "ORCDR 2", "ONLY 3", etc., up to "JUST 13". Their audio magazines use the more regular "ISSUE 1" and "ISSUE 2" scheme.
, Farmersmanual (aka Farmers Manual
or Farmer's Manual), Gescom
, Zbigniew Karkowski
& Helmut Schäfer (aka Helmut Schaefer), Francisco López
, MAZK (Masami Akita & Zbigniew Karkowski
), Daniel Menche
, Shirt Trax (aka Shirttrax), Stützpunkt Wien 12 – plus (on anthologies) Hecker
, and Incapacitants
.
They also sometimes issue an "audio magazine" (a CD with the magazine for booklet) about new computer music:
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
company, established in 1998
1998 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1998.-Events:*January 28 – "Weird Al" Yankovic gets LASIK surgery to cure his myopia...
and based in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. They specialize in electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
and experimental music
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
, and are distributed by Touch Music
Touch Music
Touch is a British audio-visual organisation, operating the Touch label. It is the main arm of the London-based multimedia publishing company Touch, established in 1982...
. They have issued "the first ever MiniDisc
MiniDisc
The disc is permanently housed in a cartridge with a sliding door, similar to the casing of a 3.5" floppy disk. This shutter is opened automatically by a mechanism upon insertion. The audio discs can either be recordable or premastered. Recordable MiniDiscs use a magneto-optical system to record...
only release" (Alan Phillips, Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
Software) http://www.itsaor.net/only3.html, the 1998 experimental album Minidisc by Autechre
Autechre
Autechre are an English electronic music duo consisting of Rob Brown and Sean Booth, both natives of Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1987, they are one of the most prominent acts signed to Warp Records, a label known for its pioneering electronic music and through which all Autechre albums...
's side-project Gescom
Gescom
Gescom is an electronic music project based in England with close ties to the band Autechre. The name is believed to have been derived from Gestalt Communication...
.
Overview
The label was apparently established in 1998 with its first release, a CD remaster of a 1995 vinyl previously from Mego Records. They have since slowly but regularly published 15 releases from 1998 to 2003. They sign with the motto "it's a or".Their peculiar catalogue numbering scheme use a different word for each release, followed by the actual number of the release in the catalogue: "UNLESS 1", "ORCDR 2", "ONLY 3", etc., up to "JUST 13". Their audio magazines use the more regular "ISSUE 1" and "ISSUE 2" scheme.
Artists
Published artists include, alphabetically: CD_Slopper, EarthEarth (band)
Earth is an American musical group based in Seattle, Washington, formed in 1989 and led by guitarist Dylan Carlson.Earth's music is nearly all instrumental, and can be divided into two distinct stages...
, Farmersmanual (aka Farmers Manual
Farmers Manual
Farmers Manual is an electronic music and visual art group, founded in Vienna in the beginning of the nineties. The core members of the collective are Mathias Gmachl, Stefan Possert, Oswald Berthold, Gert Brantner and Nik Gaffney...
or Farmer's Manual), Gescom
Gescom
Gescom is an electronic music project based in England with close ties to the band Autechre. The name is believed to have been derived from Gestalt Communication...
, Zbigniew Karkowski
Zbigniew Karkowski
Zbigniew Karkowski was born in 1958 in Krakow, Poland. He studied composition at the State College of Music in Gothenburg, Sweden, aesthetics of modern music at the University of Gothenburg's Department of Musicology, and computer music at the Chalmers University of Technology...
& Helmut Schäfer (aka Helmut Schaefer), Francisco López
Francisco López (musician)
Francisco López is an avant-garde experimental musician and sound artist.He has released a large amount of sound pieces with record labels from more than fifty countries and realized hundreds of concerts and sound installations worldwide; including some of the main international museums, galleries...
, MAZK (Masami Akita & Zbigniew Karkowski
Zbigniew Karkowski
Zbigniew Karkowski was born in 1958 in Krakow, Poland. He studied composition at the State College of Music in Gothenburg, Sweden, aesthetics of modern music at the University of Gothenburg's Department of Musicology, and computer music at the Chalmers University of Technology...
), Daniel Menche
Daniel Menche
Daniel Menche is a musician from Portland, Oregon. He has released music on labels such as Soleilmoon, Trente Oiseaux, Or Records, Alien8, Antifrost, Tesco Organisation, Blossoming Noise, f e r n s recordings Beta-lactam Ring Records, and Editions Mego...
, Shirt Trax (aka Shirttrax), Stützpunkt Wien 12 – plus (on anthologies) Hecker
Hecker
- People :* Andrew Hecker, American Television Director WOW!, GLOW, Infomercials* Chris Hecker, game programmer* Ewald Hecker , German psychiatrist, originator of the concept of hebephrenia* Klemen Hecker, a truly leet hecker...
, and Incapacitants
Incapacitants
are a Japanese noise music group formed in 1981. It consists of Toshiji Mikawa and Fumio Kosakai, whose stated aim is to produce "pure" noise, uninfluenced by musical ideas or even human intention, using primarily feedback, vocals, and various electronics...
.
They also sometimes issue an "audio magazine" (a CD with the magazine for booklet) about new computer music:
- (1999) Or Some Computer MusicOr Some Computer MusicOr Some Computer Music is a compilation album CD released in 1999.Mastered by, edited by: Denis Blackham, Russell Haswell.-Track listing:#CD slopper: "Blr oodgr,-1:3"" - 0:32#Trevor Wishart: "Fabulous Paris" - 23:50#Aphex Twin: "Perc # 6" - 4:45...
- (featuring Aphex TwinAphex TwinRichard David James , best known under the pseudonym Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born electronic musician and composer described as "the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music"...
, Beautyon, CD_Slopper, General Magic, Kevin DrummKevin Drumm-Biography:Emerging from the city's improvised music scene, in the 1990s he became one of the world's pre-eminent prepared guitar players. Since then his work has expanded to include electroacoustic compositions and live electronic music made with laptop computers and analog modular synthesizers...
, Stephen Travis Pope, Trevor Wishart, Ubik, Zbigniew KarkowskiZbigniew KarkowskiZbigniew Karkowski was born in 1958 in Krakow, Poland. He studied composition at the State College of Music in Gothenburg, Sweden, aesthetics of modern music at the University of Gothenburg's Department of Musicology, and computer music at the Chalmers University of Technology...
& Kasper T. Toeplitz) - (2001) Or Some Computer Music 2 - (featuring Albert de Campo, Atau Tanaka & Eric Wenger, Curtis RoadsCurtis RoadsCurtis Roads is a composer of electronic and electroacoustic music specializing in granular and pulsar synthesis, author, and computer programmer....
, Farmersmanual, Jim O'RourkeJim O'Rourke (musician)Jim O'Rourke is an Irish-American musician and record producer. He was long associated with the Chicago experimental and improv scene...
, Phoenecia, Tom Wallace)
External links
- Official site
- Discography of Or Records at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...